Aerospace Tenant Moving In Next To SpaceX At Port of Long Beach
Another aerospace company has touched down in Long Beach, adding to the city’s growing base of space-related businesses.
ABL Space Systems, fresh off a recent funding round that raised its valuation to $2.4B, has signed a five-year lease at the Port of Long Beach for roughly 8 acres of land and 1.3 acres of submerged land, the port announced Thursday.
The El Segundo-based company, which builds launch vehicles and systems for small satellites, will build a spacecraft processing facility at the port and use the waterfront area for cargo logistics. ABL told U.S. News & World Report that it now has contracts with 14 commercial, defense, intelligence and science industry customers for over 75 launches.
Existing structures on the property include an approximately 41K SF facility for processing spacecraft, a 15K SF warehouse and 25K of office space.
“This site is highly strategic for our growth,” ABL Space Systems CEO Harry O’Hanley said in a statement. “Maritime operations are key to scaling our launch capabilities globally.”
ABL’s new location is next to a 6.5-acre property that SpaceX inked a lease for in April. Both sites were previously occupied by Sea Launch, a commercial satellite company that had been based at the port for two decades.
Long Beach’s aerospace history stretches back to World War II, but it has gotten a boost over the past few years with companies like Virgin Orbit, Rocket Lab and SpinLaunch among the most notable to establish a sizable presence in the area.
In July, 3D-printed rocket company Relativity announced it was expanding in Long Beach, leasing 1M SF of former Boeing space near the Long Beach Airport for its headquarters and factory space. Boeing has been downsizing its area operations in Long Beach over the past decade.
